The chief executives of c-store specialists the Co-op, M&S and PageGroup founded and were the first signatories of the CEO Activist & Moving the Dial on Diversity Pledge, which will “drive action to better engage and support all under-represented groups within business.”

Co-op group chief executive Steve Murrells and M&S chief executive Steve Rowe have co-signed an open letter with PageGroup boss Steve Ingham outlining how the pledge will be more “action-orientated” and will “multiply its impact beyond their own workplaces”.